ss-board of
brown and gold. Some of the late autumn birds uttered their short sweet
songs from the copse hard by, and the musical wind came sighing up from
the valley, as if nature had furnished Eolus with a harp. It was in
short quite a scene, and a moment for a widow to make love to a young
man. They were silent for some little time, and then Mrs. Hazleton said,
with her soft, sweet, round voice, "Is not all this very charming, Mr.
Marlow?"

Her tone was quite a sad one, but not with that sort of pleasant sadness
which often mingles with our happiest moments, giving them even a higher
zest, like the flattened notes when a fine piece of music passes gently
from the major into the minor key, but really sad, profoundly sad.

"Very charming, indeed," replied her young companion, looking round to
her face with some surprise.

"And what am I to do without it, when you turn me out of my house?" said
the lady, answering his glance with a melancholy smile.

"Turn you out of your house!" exclaimed Mr. Marlow; "I hope you do not
suppose, my dear madam, that I could dream of such a thing. Oh, no! I
would not for the world deprive such a scene of its brightest ornament.
Some arrangement can be easily effected, even if my claim should prove
satisfactory to those you appoint to investigate it, by which the
neighborhood will not be deprived of the happiness of your presence."

Mrs. Hazleton felt that she had made a great step, and as she well knew
that there was no chance of his proposing then and there, she resolved
not to risk losing ground by any farther advance, even while she secured
some present benefits from that which was gained. "Well, well," she
said, "Mr. Marlow, I am quite sure you are very kind and very generous,
and we can talk of that matter hereafter. Only there is one thing you
must promise me, which is, that in regard to any arrangements respecting
the house you will not leave them to be settled by cold lawyers or
colder friends, who cannot enter into my feelings in regard to this
place, or your own liberal and kindly feelings either. Let us settle it
some day between ourselves," she added, with a light laugh, "in a
tete-a-tete like this. I do not suppose you are afraid of being
overreached by me in a bargain. But now let us turn our steps back
towards the house, for I expect Mrs. Warmington early, and I must not be
absent when she arrives."

Mrs. Warmington was there already; for the tete-a-tete had lasted lo